– Red Bull and Mercedes are set to bring a raft of upgrades to their cars in the second test in Bahrain, while Ferrari isn’t expected to bring many.

F1.com Senior Writer Lawrence Barretto tweeted: “Hearing that Red Bull are going to bring a significantly upgraded car to the official pre-season test in Bahrain. Mercedes are expected to do the same. Ferrari won’t change much.”

– Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Ferrari currently has the most powerful power unit in F1. (AMuS)

– Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has spoken positively about Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. (Times Radio)

Ecclestone said: “As a person I found him very straightforward and honourable, did exactly what he said he was going to do without any arguments.”

– According to AMuS, nine of the 10 teams’ cars are currently over the weight limit for this season, with only Alfa Romeo within the minimum 795kg limit.

– Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko thinks Lewis Hamilton’s age may affect his performance in the near future.

Marko, as quoted by RacingNews365 from an interview with Austrian newspaper OE24, said: “I can’t imagine that he can continue to drive at this high level for much longer. He has reached his peak level now, but at some point his age will come into play.”

– Fernando Alonso says he’s likely to remain in F1 beyond 2022.

He told rtve.es: “I have one year left on my contract with Alpine, and at some point, I will have to think about my future. I would say today that it is to continue in Formula 1 for another year or two”.